National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Regional Operations and Program Delivery
Highway Safety Glossary
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49 CFR Part 19: Federal regulation that establishes uniform administrative requirements for grants and other agreements with institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations.
154 Transfer Program: A state that does not enact and enforce an open container law that complies with the requirements of 23 USC 154 shall have 3% of Federal-aid highway funds transferred to the State’ Section 402 program. Transferred Section 154 funds may be used only for alcohol-impaired countermeasures and enforcement, and hazard elimination (highway safety improvement program). Reference 23 CFR Part 1270
164 Transfer Program: A state that does not enact and enforce a repeat intoxicated driver law that complies with the requirements of 23 USC 164, shall have 3% of Federal-aid highway funds transferred to the State’s Section 402 program. Transferred Section 164 funds may be used only for alcohol-impaired countermeasures and enforcement, and hazard elimination (highway safety improvement program). Reference 23 CFR Part 1275
402 Program: 23 USC Section 402 (Highway Safety Act of 1966) authorizes, the State and Community Highway Safety Grant Program which provides federal aid to States, Territories and the Indian Nations for implementing traffic safety projects at the state and local levels. Section 402 funds are apportioned to the entities on a formula basis of population and roadway miles.
403 Program: Funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of research and demonstration. The latter is usually in the form of a project awarded to a State that hopes to identify the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of a particular countermeasure or group of countermeasures.
405 Grant Program: Incentive Grant Program for Occupant Protection Grants to
States that adopt laws and implement effective programs to increase seat belt and child safety seat use. Grant funds, for use only for occupant protection programs, are available to states that meet the specific criteria. Reference 23 CFR Part 1345.
406 Grant Program: Incentive grant program to increase safety belt use. Available to states that enact and enforce primary safety belt use laws meeting specific requirements or achieve and maintain a high safety belt use rate without primary safety belt laws. Funds may be used for any safety purpose under Title 23 USC, including behavioral and infrastructure safety programs.
408 State Traffic Safety Information System Improvements Grants: A grant program to support the development and implementation of effective programs by the States to improve the traffic safety information system. Grant funds used only for traffic records/information system improvements are available to states that meet specific criteria and document improvement. Reference 23 CFR Section 406.
410 Incentive Grant Program for Alcohol-Impaired Driving Prevention: Grants are awarded to states that adopt laws and implement effective programs to reduce traffic safety problems resulting from individuals driving motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol. Grant funds may be used only to prevent impaired driving, are available to states that meet specific criteria. Reference 23 CFR Part 1313.
1906 Incentive Grant Program to Prohibit Racial Profiling: A grant program encouraging states to enact and enforce laws that prohibit the use of racial profiling in the enforcement of traffic laws on Federal aid highway, and to maintain and allow public inspection of statistics on motor vehicle stops. Grant funds can be used for activities related to collecting data and implementing programs to reduce racial profiling, are available to state that meet specific criteria. Reference 23 USC Section 1906.
2010 Motorcyclist Safety Incentive Grant: An incentive program to encourage states to adopt effective motorcyclist safety programs. Grant funds may only be used for motorcyclist safety training and motorcyclist awareness (to enhance motorist awareness of the presence of motorcyclists) programs are available to states that meet specific criteria. Reference 23 CFR Part 1350.
2011 Child Safety and Child Booster Seat Incentive Grant: Is an incentive grant program for child safety seats and child booster seats. Grant funds can be used to purchase and distribution of child restraints to low-income families; enforcement of child restraint laws; training concerning use of child restraints; and education programs to the public concerning proper use and installation of child restraints, are available to states that enact and enforce a booster seat law meeting specific requirements. Reference 23 USC Section 2011.
80/20 March Requirements: 23 USC Section 120(b) provides that the Federal share payable for the State and Community Highway Safety Program (Section 402) shall not exceed 80 percent (except States that elect to participate in a sliding scale). States are required to provide match for the remaining 20 percent, which can be direct or indirect costs, but must be traceable and auditable. Reference NHTSA Order 462-6C
Annual Report: The report submitted each year by December 31 (90 days after end of federal fiscal year), by each State, which addresses: State progress in meeting highway safety goals, using performance measures as identified in the State’s Performance Plan. Reference 23 CFR Part 1200.35
Apportionment: Congressional division of Federal funds among States based on predetermined formula. Highway Safety funds are apportioned on the basis of a formula that uses the States’ population and roadway miles.
Appropriation: Congressional action making funds available for obligation and expenditure each fiscal year. Under the Highway Safety Act, appropriation places a limitation on funds previously authorized and apportioned.
Authorization: Congressional action providing an agency (e.g., NHTSA) the authority to carry out a program and at the same time place an upper (fiscal year) limitation on funds that can be appropriated. General, several fiscal years are included in a single authorization. Examples: Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and Moving Ahead for Progress in The 21st Century Act (MAP-21).
Award: Means grant, cost reimbursement contracts and other agreements between a State, local and Indian tribal government and the Federal Government.
Awarding Agency: (a) with respect to a grant, cooperative agreement, or cost reimbursement contract, the Federal agency, and (b) with respect to a sub award, the party that awarded the sub award.
BAC: Blood Alcohol Concentration.
Benefit to Local: A state must meet the requirement that at least 40% of Section 402, 154AL and 164AL funds expended each fiscal year be expended by or for the benefit of local political subdivisions. Reference 23 CFR Part 1200 Appendix E
Carry-forward Funds: Those funds that a State has not expended on projects in the fiscal year in which they were apportioned or allocated, that are being brought forward and made available for expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: A listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals. Reference CFDA
Certifications Statements: Statements signed by the Governor Representative and submitted annually with the highway safety plan to NHTSA, providing formal assurances regarding the State’s compliance with applicable laws and financial and programmatic requirements pertaining to the Section 402 program.
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations.
CIOT: Click It or Ticket a national campaign to increase safety belt usage with high visibility enforcement and paid media at specific times, including a national mobilization around Memorial Day.
Closeout: A process for terminating a current year’s highway safety program and moving the unexpended funds into the subsequent year’s Highway Safety Plan. This must occur within 90 days of the end of the federal fiscal year. Reference 23 CFR Part 1200.40
CODES: Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System. A probabilistic linkage technique that make it possible for states to link large data files in a very short amount of time at relatively low cost. From the linked data, the states identify the expected medical and financial outcome for specific vehicle, crash, and person characteristics.
Cognizant Agency: The Federal agency responsible for reviewing, negotiating, and approving cost allocation plans or indirect cost proposals developed under 2CFR part 225 on behalf of all Federal agencies.
Corrective Action Plan (CAP): A document developed jointly between NHTSA and the SHSO that identifies actions to address findings set forth in the Management Review Final Report, tasks to complete the actions, target dates for completion of each task, and a status element for indicating progress of each required action based upon periodic reporting by the State.
Common Rule: Federal regulation governing the administration of grants to State and local governments with its intent not to impose additional requirements on the grantee beyond requirements established by the government of that grantee. Reference 49 CFR Part 18.
Contract Authority: The statutory language that authorizes NHTSA to incur and obligation without the need for a prior appropriation or further action from Congress and which, when exercised, creates a binding obligation on the United States for which Congress must make subsequent liquidating appropriations. In the event that authorizations exist but no applicable appropriation act has been enacted by October 1 of a fiscal year, the NHTSA Administrator shall distribute to the States a part of the funds authorized under Section 402 contract authority to ensure program continuity. Reference 23 CFR Part 1200.15(b)
Contractor: The recipient of a contract or subcontract under the State’s highway safety planning document.
Costs: An amount as determined on cash, accrual, or other basis acceptable to the Federal awarding or cognizant agency.
Cost Effective: A measure of project input in terms of dollars against output in terms of degree of accomplishment.
Cost Principles for Education Institutions: Federal regulations for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts and other agreements with educational institutions. Reference 2 CFR Part 220.
Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal: Federal regulations that establish principles and standards for determining costs for federal awards carried out through grants, cost reimbursement contracts, and other agreements with governmental units. Reference 2 CFR 225.
Countermeasure: An activity or initiative to prevent, neutralize, or correct a specific problem.
Data Element: A unit of information in its smallest meaningful form, which expresses an occurrence.
Direct Costs: Costs that can be identified specifically with a particular final cost objective.
Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Court: A court that specializes in cases involving driving while intoxicated and abides by the Ten Guiding Principles of DWI Courts in effect on the date of the grant, as established by the National Center for DWI Courts.
Evidentiary Breath Testing (EBT): Any instrument capable of analyzing a sample of breath to determine blood alcohol concentration with sufficient accuracy to be admissible as evidence in court.
Equipment: Tangible, nonexpendable, personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit. A grantee may use its own definition of equipment provided that such definition would at least include all equipment defined above. Reference 23CFR Part 1200.31
Evaluation: An assessment of the accomplishment or worth of an activity or countermeasure. Evaluations are predominantly of two types, (1) administrative evaluation which measures the actual activities, tasks, dollars against those planned; (2) impact evaluation which measures an activity against a specific goal, e.g., a reduction of fatalities, injuries.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): The number of traffic fatalities per number of vehicle miles travel in a given year. The rate is usually expressed in terms of fatalities per one hundred million miles traveled. Sometimes also expressed as a rate of population or licensed drivers.
FHWA: The Federal Highway Administration is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for the administration of the nation’s Federal-Aid highway funds.
Fiscal Year (FY): Any 12 month accounting period, but generally used to differentiate from a calendar year. The federal government fiscal year is October 1 through September 30.
Goal: A benchmark established to correct an identified problem, generally viewed from a long-range vantage of two to five years.
Governor’s Representative for Highway Safety (GR): The official appointed by the Governor to implement the state’s highway safety program or, for the application of this part to Indian Country as provided in 23 U.S.C. 402(h), an official of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or other Department of Interior official who is duly designated by the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Indian highway safety program.
GHSA: The Governor’s Highway Safety Association is an association of state highway safety representatives whose primary purpose is to represent the state’s interests on a national level and provide support for state highway safety programs.
Grant Tracking System (GTS): NHTSA’s web-based electronic system for accounting for grant funds awarded to States.
Grantee: The government to which a grant is awarded and which is accountable for the use of the funds provided.
Grants: The awarding of federal funds to a designated recipient such as a state highway safety agency to augment a state’s highway safety program.
Hatch Act: A certification required by states applying for Section 402 funds. The state will comply with the provisions of 5 USC 1501-1508 and implementing regulations of 5 CFR Part 151, concerning “Political Activity of State or Local Offices, or Employees”.
Hazards Elimination Program: Each state shall conduct and systematically maintain an engineering survey of all public roads to identify hazardous locations, sections, and elements, including roadside obstacles and unmarked or poorly marked roads which may constitute a danger to motorists. Reference 23 USC 152.
High Crash Location: Highway or road segments that are susceptible to an inordinate number of crashes, usually the result of poor road design, absence of appropriate traffic signing or signals, or lack of enforcement. Identification of high crash locations are a desirable part of the problem identification process.
High Risk Grantee: A grantee or sub-grantee determined by NHTSA to: have a history of unsatisfactory performance; be financially unstable; have a management system which does not meet the management standards set forth in 49 CFR 18.12; not conform to terms and conditions of previous awards or be otherwise not responsible.
High Visibility Enforcement (HVE): An integral part of occupant protection and impaired driving programs is high visibility enforcement efforts.